Frequently Asked Questions
Functional Nutritional Therapy
How is Functional Nutrition different from other nutrition modalities?
Functional Nutrition goes beyond making dietary recommendations. The focus of Functional Nutrition is to provide your body with the tools to heal and maintain balance, including reducing chronic stress and inflammation, optimizing your digestion, balancing your gut microbiome, your blood sugar; and making sure you are obtaining and absorbing the essential nutrients your body needs to work optimally. I use different tools, including specialized laboratory testing, when indicated, to uncover potential nutritional deficiencies and physiological imbalances that could be the root cause of your symptoms. I then provide you with dietary, nutritional and lifestyle recommendations, and support for removing potential roadblocks to self-healing. I do not diagnose or treat disease.
Will I have to take supplements?
Although it is not a requirement that you take supplements as part of my protocols, most people benefit from including nutritional and herbal supplements into their healing process. If you mostly consume a Standard American Diet – SAD – or if you frequently rely on packaged, ultra-processed foods or take-out, you most likely have significant nutritional deficiencies. As you adjust to a more nutrient-dense diet, introducing specific nutrients in supplement form is generally necessary to optimize your digestion so you can actually absorb the nutrients from your new diet. Supplements can also accelerate the detoxification process from all the chemicals and harmful toxins that result from a poor diet and environmental exposures and thereby greatly accelerate the healing process.
Supplementation is also optimal when addressing the findings of advanced laboratory testing. When there has been a significant disruption of your physiology manifesting as chronic, debilitating symptoms; a nutrient-dense diet, exercise and lifestyle changes are frequently not enough. But with the guidance of your personalized testing, I can recommend supplements targeted to your individual needs.
I only work with and recommend practitioner-grade supplements to my clients, so you would have access to the highest standards in purity, potency, quality and efficacy and get a 10% MSRP discount with every order.
Will I have to remove specific foods from my diet?
Yes, most likely. Certain foods can be highly inflammatory and cause a severe disruption of your gastrointestinal lining, microbiome, and overall health. I recommend everyone (clients or not) to remove industrially-produced vegetable seed oils (canola, corn, sunflower, soybean, etc.), trans-fats, refined flours and sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup from their diets immediately. Other common foods that can be problematic for many people are gluten, corn and dairy. Unfortunately, oftentimes the foods that we are most sensitive to, are in fact the ones we crave the most. Working with me, you will receive plenty of support, including a list of substitutions and recipes, so the elimination process doesn’t feel daunting. It is also important not to focus on what you cannot eat, but on the vast amount of choices available to you, and to feel excited about trying new things. Also, as we work on healing your gut, you may find that, overtime, you are able to re-introduce those foods into your diet without hurting your body and you will have learned to look for signs that a particular food just doesn’t agree with you.
Do you offer weight loss programs?
My practice doesn’t focus on weight loss but on reducing inflammation and improving your overall health. However, once you start healing and providing your body with all the nutrients it needs to function optimally, your weight will likely also adjust to your ideal constitution. For some people this may mean losing weight while others may gain more. That said, I invite you to follow your body’s wisdom and trust that, as long as you are healthy, specific measurements are meaningless.
I do not focus on calories but on nutrient-density and on tailoring a diet that is appropriate to your bio-individuality. You may even find yourself eating larger amounts of food and yet, losing more weight than when you were trying to follow a specific diet.
Book a Free Consultation with Tere
If you’re interested in working with me, press the button below to schedule a free video call. We will discuss your health challenges and goals to determine if Nutritional Therapy is right for you and to assess how many sessions you may require to address your needs.